This invention relates generally to the field of reflector lamps and more particularly to the field of reflector lamps comprising one or more light emitting diodes (LED) as the illumination source. Even more particularly, this invention relates to any such LED reflector lamps that project one or more controlled, directional light beams or patterns.
Reflector lamps comprising an illumination source and a reflective surface are well known, and are found in such devices as flashlights, spotlights, automobile headlights or the like. Various illumination sources may be used, such as for example an incandescent filament bulb, a high intensity discharge lamp, a florescent lamp or an LED. A shaped reflective surface surrounds the illumination source and directs the light photons emitted from the illumination source in a controlled manner to produce, for example, a circular beam pattern as found in a spotlight. Most commonly the shaped reflective surface is parabolic, although elliptical, segmented, polygonal or flat surfaces are known, and the surface is covered with a polished aluminum metal, such that the lamps are generally referred to as parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) lamps. The position of the illumination source relative to the focal point of the parabolic reflector and the particular shape of the parabolic reflective surface determine the pattern or shape of the projected light beam. Often, the reflected light is passed through a refractive optical lens to refine the light beam pattern.
One shortcoming of these typical reflector lamps is that a significant portion of the light emitted from the illumination source is wasted, since only a portion of the emitted light falls on the desired area of the reflective surface. The remainder of the emitted light is either not reflected at all or is reflected in an undesirable manner outside of the desired light beam pattern. Another shortcoming is that an optical refractive lens is required for many applications, which raises the cost of manufacture and the expense of repair should the lens be damaged. Another shortcoming is that multiple lamps are often required when it is desired to project multiple or distinct beam patterns, such as on an automobile where low driving beams, high driving beams, turning signals, emergency flashers, etc. are required.
LED's require less lumens-per-watt of electrical power to produce light, have longer average life expectancy than other forms of incandescent lamps, are more resistant to damage from vibration and shock, offer much greater reliability, maximize the cost to lumens ratio for effective cost savings, and are environmentally friendly.
It is an object of this invention to provide an LED reflector lamp that solves the problems set forth above. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device wherein one or more LED's are mounted to one or more occluding faces of a pedestal extending into the interior of the reflector surface, the faces of the pedestal being disposed toward the interior or rear of the parabolic reflector at an angle to the central axis of from zero to approximately 30 degrees, whereby the combination of the location of the LED's, the shape of the reflective surface, the angles of the faces and the occlusion range of the faces determines the shape of the light beam projected from the lamp. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device wherein a refractive optical lens is not required to control the projected light beam. These objects, along with other objects not expressly set forth above, will be apparent upon examination of the disclosure herein.
The present invention may be used for, among other things, highway vehicle headlights, backup lights, work lights, emergency lights, aircraft landing/taxing lights, aircraft guide way landing lights and on all forms of motorized vehicles; such as, but not limited to, automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, aircraft, farm equipment, construction equipment, off road vehicles, trains, other rail vehicles, railroad wayside signals, highway traffic control signals and replacement for any PAR type or light fixture with a reflective device for forming a beam pattern.